Improvement in bayonets



A. MILLS. Bayonet.

No. 101,297. Patented Mmhg, 1870,.

FICv-l.

ntrd mes ANsoN Mitts, or UNITED STATES ARMY.

Letters Patent No. 101,297, dated March. 29, 187i).

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the same.

`I, A NSON MILLs, captaiu ISthInfanti-y, and brevet lieutenant-colonel United States Army, have invented cerf-ain Improvements in the Attachment' of Bayonets to Guns, and in Tompions, by whichI said guns may be stacked, of which the following isa speciiication.

The, first part of my invention relates -to improved devices for securing a bayonet when carried close under the barrel of a gun by means of a band -sliding thereon.;YV A second band is fixed upon the muzzle of the gun,f`said 'band being provided with loops upon its under side which' assist in supporting the butt of the hayon@ when fixed, and by which the point of the bayonet isprotected-when uniixed and drawn back. A spring catch, arranged to project from the end of the stock or ot' the middle band of the gunbarrel, is made to'hold 4`and secure the bayonet when sheathed, and the bayonet is fixed and secured when drawn o utby the action of a spring catch arranged under the muzzle-band to hold it in that position, and facilitate the attachment of the bayonet upon the gun direct.

The second part of my invention relates to the employment of a hollow soft metal cylinder as a tompion for the gun, a screw-driver of three blades being incased in the cylinder' by screwing into its upper end, while its lower end is closed and provided witha rubber washer secured to the bottom thereof by a nut.

l'.lhe head of the `tompion, made spherical, is provided with a ring pivoted in the neck thereof to slip over the same; the object of this part of my invention being to supply a ready means of stacking guns provided with myimproved bayonet attachment, and at the same time supply not only a tompion, but, in combination therewith, and in compact form,.the neces sary devices for removing -or securing any part of the gun or its attachments.

Figure 1 in the accompanying drawings is a side elevation of the barrel of a gun fitted with my bayonet attachment and screw-driver tompion;

Figure 2, a similar view thereof, with the bayonet drawn and fixed Figure 3, a central longitudinal section of the muzzie of the gun-barrel and of the band fixedthereon;

Figure 4, a similar section of the gun-barrel at its middle band illustrating the devices for securing the butt of the bayonet when sheathed;

Figure 5, a transverse section of the muzzle and muzzle-band in the'line :e :z: of fig. 3;

Figure 6, a similar section in the line y y of fig. 4.

Figure 7, a longitudinal central section of my improved tompion and ,A

Figure 8, an elevation of the screwfdriver plug removed from its incasing cylinder and with its blades spread apart.

on a proper bearing."

B is the stock, cut away or removed from the outer end of the barrel close down to the middle band.

O is the middle band of thebarrel embracing the '1i-ont end of the stock B, and provided, as usual, with a swivel, c. l

D is a band fitting the barrel closely but loosely, so as'to slide thereon freely.

E is the bayonet. Its butt end is firmly welded, brazed, or otherwise secured to the under side of the sliding-band D.

F is a band fitting closely upon the muzzle of the gun, its. rear portion on the upper side being cut away, as shown vat a, iig. 1, to permit it to fit against the sight on the muzzle and extend back on either side beyond it. u

f f are loops projecting from the under side of the band F through which it slides when drawn out to be fixed. These loops serve'to' guard the point of the bayonet when sheathed, and to give irm support to*- its base or butt end when fixed. A single loop may be employed instead of the two herein illustrated, or the lower portion of the band be enlarged for the same purpose.

G is a catchpivoted within alongitudinal recess cut on thev under side of the muzzle-band inside of the loops, by a transverse pin, g, fig. 3; one end of the catch projects outbeyond the rear end of the band F, and is provided with a hooked head, b; its other end is made T-shaped, the side arms thereby serving to prevent it from slipping outward, and is also provided with an upright lug or upward projection, W, t o t into a counterpart recess in the under side of the barrel, and thus hold the band F in place thereon.

I, iig. 3, is a spring secured to the upper side of thc catch G to bear against the under side of the barrel, and thus force the catch down to engage the bandy D ofthe bayonet when the bayonet is drawn out to be fixed.

J, tig. 4, is a catch inserted between the barretA and stock B in a longitudinal recess cut in the end of the latter. The rearward end of the catch is T-shaped like 'the catch G, (see the illustration of catch G in fig. 6,) the ends or arms of the T, -fitting horizontally into a counterpart recess, serving to prevent an accidental withdrawal of the catch. Its front end projects beyond the end of the stock suiiiciently to permit its hooked head b toengage the sliding band D at the butt of the bayonet, as illustrated in fig. 4, and a spring, I', is fastened upon its upper side to bear against the barrel and secure this engagement thereof.

K, fig. 4, is a loose pin inserted through an anerture in the under side of the middle band C, and through the stock B, to bear against the catch J.

A nut, k, upon its inner end prevents a withdrawal of the pin K, which is made longenough to serve to depress the catch J and disengage it from thebayonet by pressure upon its outer end.

M, iig. 7 is the hollow cylinder of soft metal forming a tompion for the gun A.

L is a spherical-headed plug screwinginto the open end of the cylinder, and provided with a ange, n, equal in diameter to that of the cylinder to cover the end thereof, and which is separated from the head by an intermediate neck, m..

A screw-driver blade, l, projects centrally from the plug to pass within the cylinder, a'nd it may he made in one piece therewith, or otherwise secured thereto.

A steel ring of wire, N, slightly elliptical in form, is pivoted or hinged` in an eye, r, secured close in the side of the neck m, with its face in line with the hinge, but with the smaller diameter of its ellipse exactly equal to the diameter of the spherical head, so that it may be turned on its hinge and pressed with a spring over said head, as shown in fig. l.

This ring N when-thrown out, as shown in fig.4 7, may be passed over the tompion-head in the muzzle of a second gun placed in contact therewith, so that by the use of these tompions and ringsthree guns may be as readily stacked and secured as has hereto- 'fore been done with the old form ofbayonets.

I, fig. 7, is a threaded pin projecting centrally from Y the bottom of the cylinder M, upon which is placed a thick washer, O, of India rubber or other elastic material, of such composition as not to be .too easily af fected by a change of temperature. This washer is secured by a nut screwing upon the pin, and the pressure of this nnt on the washer serves to increase its diameter so that it may be fitted closely in the bore of the barrel with suicient friction to hold the tompion firmly therein.

Q and It are additional blades pivoted on each side of the central shank or blade l, so as to coincide therewith when closed thereon. One of said blades It is so shaped as that it may be used to withdrawthe cartridge-shells from the chamber of-tile gun when they become fastened therein.

lhe bayonet when sheathed is secured by the catch J. which engages the sliding band D at its butt.

To fix the bayonet for use, the catch J is released by pressure upon the piu K, and the bayonet and its sliding band D drawn forward until the band D strikes .Y the under side of the muzzle-band F, when the catch G will engage therewith and securely fasten the bayonet at this point'. The bayonet itself receives additional support by closely fitting and wedging into the loops f f. To unx the bayonet, it is only necessary to press down the projecting cnd b of the catch G, (sec fig. 2,) and thus disengage it and then slide back the band D and bayonet to its' first position.

kThe muzzle-band F may be readily removed from the gun by withdrawing the pivot-pin g holding the catch G, so as to permit the projection W thereon which holds it to drop clear of the recess in the barrel. After removing the muzzle-band F, the bayonet E may be also detached from the gun by sliding it forward until its band D reaches the portion of thebarrel just back of' the sight T, and then turning it so as to bring its under side uppermost andv allow it to be drawn over the sight. The barrel A is made perfectly cylindrical for this purpose from a point back of the sight to the end of the-muzzle, as shown in gs. 3 and 6.

I contemplate forminga case upon the underside of the barrel to inclose the bayonet along its entire length when drawn bach and sheathed, although this will not ordinarily be required.

I claim as my invention- 1. On'e or more loops ff projecting from a muzzleband F fittingupon and secured to the muzzle of a gun-barrel A, and so arranged and'combined with a bayonet made to slide upon said barrel as to aid in supporting it when fixed, alll substantially as herein set forth.

2. The pivoted catch-lever G, so formed, arranged, and combined with the barrel A, muzzle-band F, and spring I as to fasten the band upon the barrel, and also serve as a catch in fixing the bayonet of the gun,I substantially as herein set forth.

3. A loose pin K, inn combination with the middle band C of a gun-barrel, and with a spring-catch J interposed between said band and barrel, substantially in the manner and for the purpose set forth.

4. A tompion, constructed substantially as herein described of a soft metal hollow cylinder M fitted at its closed bottom end with an elastic washer O, and at the other end with a iang'edl head L screwing into said cylinder and carrying one o r more implements l Q It, all substantially asv herein set forth.

5. A ring N, arranged in combination with the sphe rical head of a tompion, substantially as herein described.

Y The foregoing specification signed this 8th day of November, 1869.

ANSON MILLS, Captain 18th Inf., Bvt. Lieut. Col. U. S. A.

4Witnesses:

Trios. H. Ruota` CARROLL H. POTTER, 

